All I Ever Needed Was You
by JoannaBanana91
Summary: After the curse breaks and his heart is cured, Henry reflects on what he really wants.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I don't have much inspiration, but I decided to write this anyway. I hope you guys enjoy this, but I'll understand if you don't. (My bitterness probably leaked into it anyway).**

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Henry held the storybook to his chest.

He had all his memories back thanks to a fairly recent true love kiss between Hook and his daughter Alice. He had even managed to get a cure for his heart!

He should've been happy that he had his memories back and that he was cured, but now all he felt was confusion, anger, and slight deja vu.

The worst part was that he couldn't even tell his own mother about it, nor could he ever tell Lucy.

Well...he would have to tell them eventually at some point, but he wasn't looking forward to it.

Most of all he didn't want to let them down.

How could he look them in the eye, especially Lucy, and tell them that he was only with Ella for all of those years because he didn't want Lucy to grow up with separated parents?

Divorce wasn't exactly a viable option in a place like The Enchanted Forest, and he didn't want to end up like his birth mother, Emma. Not that he didn't like original Hook, but a part of him always secretly wished that his birth parents had stayed together. And having always idolized his grandparents love, he longed to meet a girl, fall in love, and then have a child just like they did.

Something simple and easy.

And it seemed that way...in the beginning at least.

Fighting with Ella and taking down bad guys seemed like a good idea, and when they discovered that she was pregnant shortly after returning from Wonderland, they were both over-joyed at the prospect of being parents despite the fact that they had only known each other for two weeks.

The excitement of being a father remained with Henry for about three years until he started to realize that maybe the whole "love-at-first-sight" thing wasn't such a good idea after all.

And he totally understood why his curse persona became so infatuated with Jacinda, because she did have some endearing qualities, but those qualities quickly wore off after a while.

"Henry Mills," filled him with so much excitement in the beginning, but then once Lucy turned five years old, it went from endearing to just plain annoying. Every time "Henry Mills" came out of Ella's mouth, Henry immediately knew it would be followed by a complaint about him and/or something irrelevant about Tiana or Hook or whatever.

He had grown to hate those two words.

 _Henry Mills._

Now don't get it confused. Ella was still the mother of his child, so he could never hate her, but at the same time, he couldn't imagine being with her forever.

And this was made perfectly clear on Lucy's seventh birthday.

 **~*THE NIGHT OF LUCY'S SEVENTH BIRTHDAY*~**

Henry sat at the desk in his study with the author pen trying to decide what to write.

Of course, there was nothing to write since everything was fine and they had no one to worry about...yet.

So he would have to settle for Lucy's birthday.

"Lucy had a great time tonight didn't she?" Ella's voiced asked from behind him as he started to write on the paper.

Henry smiled. It was always nice seeing his little girl happy.

"Yeah, she did. I'm glad Tiana gave me the idea to surprise her with that toy. She's gonna carry that with her until she's at least...ten."

Ella laughed lightly.

"Well, I don't know about you, but her mother is very tired and would like to go to bed. Unless of course...you would like to join me."

Henry knew what the tone meant. But he needed to write this down.

At least, that's what he told himself.

"No, I'm good, Ella. Good night," he replied bluntly.

He didn't even need to turn around to sense that she was disappointed. But there was no argument from her because she had heard the same response on and off for the last two years.

The sound of her footsteps echoing in the hall stayed with him until there was nothing but silence.

It was only after she had left that Henry was struck by a horrible realization: They were drifting apart.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, it suddenly dawned on Henry that the only thing they had in common was Lucy. They didn't have a real connection outside of that.

But no matter how unhappy he was in their marriage, Henry refused to separate from Ella because of Lucy.

Which made it ten times worse.

 **~*PRESENT DAY*~**

Henry put the book down on his table.

It had only been a few days since the curse broke and his heart was cured, but he still felt like there was something missing inside him.

At first he thought it was Ella, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized it was someone much closer to her; her step-sister.

He missed Ivy. Or Drizella he should say.

They shared a connection that he had never shared with Ella. A connection that wasn't formed because of a child, but because they were two lost souls who had found each other.

And when he remembered the curse and the poisoning of his heart, his immediate reaction was anger, but then that anger slowly turned into understanding and then forgiveness.

The last time he had seen Drizella, she apologized, unbeknownst to him, for poisoning his heart.

And once he had figured that out, he became very disappointed.

Not with her, but with himself.

For allowing everyone else to dictate his actions and only pursuing Jacinda because _they_ said so. Even Drizella herself said that he should be with her! But he should've ignored everyone else and gone with what his heart was telling him instead.

During all of the time he spent with Drizella, every instinct in his body told him that _this_ was the woman that he wanted to be with. _This_ was the person he wanted to connect with after being alone for all of that time.

But now that she was somewhere else with her sister Anastasia, Henry didn't know if he would ever see her again.

And for the first time, he finally understood the phrase "I will always find you." Because being separated from someone he cared about, someone he almost...loved, was too much to bear sometimes.

And he already needed a curse to get into the real world again, so his chances of seeing Drizella again were slim to none.

Henry chuckled to himself.

"Well. That's what happens when you live in the real world. You don't always get what you want."

"Are you talking to yourself?"

Henry jumped at the voice behind him.

"Mom! God, you scared me. When did you come in? I didn't hear you."

"You gave me a key remember?" Regina held up the key in her hand and shook it. She looked at him apologetically and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"'m sorry. I just wanted to see how you were doing. You've been very...off ever since you've...woken up."

He could tell she was concerned by his unexpected behavior.

Henry made his way to the other side of the room and sank into the sofa.

"Yeah, I've just been thinking...about...my life and...what I want."

He could already feel himself growing uncomfortable, but deep down, he knew that he needed to get this off of his chest.

Regina sat down beside him.

"What do you want, Henry?" She asked him calmly.

"I think I know what I want, but...I'm afraid of what will happen."

"Afraid of wanting something?"

"No, admitting that I want something out loud. It's...hard."

Regina sighed and grabbed his hand.

"Henry, I am not going to judge you. I'm your mother, and I just want you to be happy."

Henry knew he could trust his mom. It had taken many years of heartache to realize it, but he knew that he could.

Inhaling slowly through his mouth and out his nose, he gathered all of his courage.

"Mom, I...I miss Drizella, and I want to see her again."

Regina let go of his hand.

He immediately threw his head down in shame.

" _Great. I knew she wouldn't be happy if I said that_ ," he thought glumly to himself.

"I have a magic bean."

Henry's head snapped up.

"Wait. What?"

"I have a magic bean! I got a bag of them from Facilier as gift. I took them because I thought that they would be useful one day."

Henry's face lit up for the first time in days, but then...

"But ...I can't just leave Lucy and Ella behind. They need me."

Regina laughed softly.

"True. But Henry...How do you even know that Drizella feels the same way?"

The thought never crossed his mind.

But it should've.

"I...I don't. But I really want to see her again. I just need to tell her that I forgive her for everything."

Regina sighed and got off the couch.

"Alright then. Operation Reunion is now a go."

"Did you just say 'Operation Reunion'"?

"Yeah I know. The name needs a lot of work."

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 **A/N: Next part coming up soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Whoo.**

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He said everything that he needed to say.

And those few seconds of silence weighed on him heavily until...

"You're right."

Another surprising reaction.

"What did you say?"

"You're right. We've never had anything in common besides Lucy, and I think we owe it to ourselves to be with people that we love instead of forcing it out of the other."

Henry couldn't believe this was happening. Was Ella really admitting that they were not right for each other anymore? Was she actually doing that?

"Ella..."

Henry couldn't think of what the right words were.

"Ella, I'm sorry."

Ella smiled at him.

Her eyes were beginning to grow red from the tears that were beginning to form.

"Yeah. Me too. Guess it just wasn't 'mean to be' after all huh?" She said with a sad chuckle.

He walked over to her and gave her a gentle hug.

"This doesn't change anything okay?" He said through her hair.

He released the hug and grabbed her shoulders gently.

"Just remember Ella. We'll always be a family. _Always_."

 **~*ONE HOUR LATER*~**

"You're...You're what?!"

Lucy's reaction to the news was just as Henry expected.

And he hated it.

"Your father and I are separating, baby," Ella told her calmly.

"Bu-bu-bu But you guys are true love! You're my parents so you must be!"

"I'm sorry Lucy, but...sometimes 'true love' can happen more than one time. And there's nothing wrong with that."

He knew trying to rationalize with a ten year old was ultimately useless, but as her father he needed to.

Lucy glared her eyes at him as though he had betrayed her in some awful way.

And to be honest, he felt that way.

But she needed to hear the truth.

No matter how much it hurt.

 **~*FOUR DAYS LATER*~**

It had taken a few days to get everything settled.

But now they were finally ready to leave.

Henry wrapped his arms around his mother in a hug.

"I will try and visit as often as I can. I mean I do have that wand."

Henry laughed.

"I know mom. I know."

"So how does this work?" Ella asked him.

"Well, we throw the bean and then we think about where we need to go."

"But what if we get separated from each other?" Lucy said worriedly.

Henry sighed and got down on her level.

"Lucy. That will never happen okay? And even if it did, we will always find each other, because that's what family does. Okay?"

Lucy nodded.

Henry got up and glanced over at Ella.

He could tell she was nervous about this.

She definitely wasn't alone in that.

He took a few of the beans out of his pocket and handed them to her.

"Here, take them. Just in case."

Ella gently took them from his hand and placed them in her jacket pocket.

Henry then proceeded to take one bean from the bag, and stuffed the bag into his inside pocket.

He stared at the tiny little bean for what felt like hours, until his arm went on auto-pilot and he put it on the ground before them.

Suddenly, a portal opened up before them just waiting to be passed through.

"Well, here goes everything. You guys ready?"

Ella grabbed Lucy's hand.

"Yes," she replied firmly.

"Then let's go!"

As they entered the portal, Henry held his breath and let his mind focus on one thought.

" _Take me to Drizella_."

He closed his eyes and felt the warm wind blow on his face and the force of the portal threw him into the forest of an unknown land.

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 **A/N: :O**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Bee-boop.**

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"Ah. Easy landing like always," he said out loud to himself as he struggled to ignore the pain in his legs from being thrown by the portal.

"Henry?"

Henry's head whipped around at the mention of his name, and that was when he saw her.

"Mom!"

He ran over and gave his mother Emma the biggest hug that he could.

"Mom! Oh, it's so good to see you."

"You too, kid."

Henry rolled his eyes at her.

"What? It doesn't matter how big you get, you'll always be 'kid' to me."

He noticed that she was starting to grow a little weary around the eyes.

"New baby keeping you up huh?"

Emma laughed lightly.

"Oh yeah. That. Yeah, she's a little spit-fire, I'll tell you that. I'm just happy to finally get a break. Your grandma's watching her now."

"What's her name?"

"Leia."

Henry laughed at that.

"That is just...wow. Mom, that's perfect. It really is."

"Thank you."

Henry motioned for them to start walking together.

"So how long has it been since I last saw you?"

"Two years."

"Two years? Wow. It's been only ten for me."

"Well that explains a lot."

Henry stopped in his tracks.

"What are you doing out here anyway?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"Well mom, I asked you first."

Emma scoffed and chuckled.

"Alright. Alright, Mr. Tough Guy. There was a drunk man out here last night, and I was just trying to find him."

"Where's Hook?"

"He's handling things at the sheriff's station. It took a while, but I think we can safely say that the former pirate managed to adapt to the 21st century."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it mom."

"Now what about you? What are you doing here?"

"Well...It's kind of a long story."

"Well, we have a long walk ahead of us, so you can tell me on the way."

 **~*MEANWHILE...*~**

A bird flew across the sky of the forest, startled by the mysterious bright light that had shown up only moments ago.

Ella fixed Lucy's shirt collar. The force of the portal nearly broke her arm, but thankfully, the pain was beginning to wear off now.

"Mom, is your arm gonna be okay?"

"It's gonna be fine baby."

Lucy looked around worriedly.

"Where are we? Where's dad?!"

Ella could see the fear in her eyes.

"What if something happened to him? What if he got sent to Neverland again? What if-"

"Lucy, calm down."

"But I can't calm down, mom! We don't know where he is!"

Ella pulled Lucy close to her.

"I know baby, I know. But everything's gonna be alright, you'll see."

"Excuse me!" A man's voice said from behind them.

Lucy's eyes lit up. Was that...?

She turned around and saw herself staring at her father once more.

But...

Where did he get that long robe from? And that crown on his head...

"May I ask who you are and why you are here?"

Ella was just as confused as Lucy was.

"Henry? How did you change your clothes so fast?"

"Uh, it's King Henry actually. I am the ruler of this realm. And I won't ask again. Who are you?"

Now Lucy was starting to get it.

This was the other Henry! The one created by The Evil Queen's wish!

Slightly flustered and unsure of what to do, Ella bowed before him.

Henry immediately put his hand up to stop her.

"Oh no no no! There's no need for that."

Ella laughed nervously.

"Sorry. Um, my name is Ella and this is my daughter, Lucy."

King Henry stuck out his hand for Ella to shake.

The moment he grabbed her hand, Ella could feel something inside her that she thought she would never feel again.

"Lovely to meet you, Ella. Sorry if I came on a little too strong. I'm Henry."

Ella smiled at the man before her, and he smiled warmly at her.

And Lucy looked between the two of them with a huge grin on her face.

 **~*STORYBROOKE, ONE HOUR LATER*~**

Henry sat in silence in the front seat while the drunk man snored in the back.

The drunk man actually being Leroy.

"So this Drizella...Is she anything like the movie version?"

Emma's joke managed to cut the tension from having told that long story.

"Ha! No. I mean she does have short dark brown hair, but she's a little bit different."

Emma turned the steering wheel and made a left turn onto main street.

"Well, that sounds a lot like a girl I know who just moved here not too long ago."

Henry sat up straighter in his seat.

"Really? You've seen her?"

"Yeah, I think so. She works as a temp in Archie's office. Calls herself 'Ivy' though."

Now he knew why the bean had taken him to Storybrooke.

It had brought him home once again.

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 **A/N: The reunion will be here soon. I promise. And yes, I know that the magic bean takes you to where you're thinking of, so Ella and Lucy should've gone with Henry. But this is fanfiction, therefore, some rules do not apply.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Bee-bop. Boop.**

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"Henry!"

Killian held his arms out, and Henry walked over to his desk and hugged him.

"Ah, Hook! Great to see you."

"You too lad, you too." He said with a slap on his back.

As they pulled away, Henry could see his mother gently pushing Leroy into his jail cell.

Henry nodded in their direction.

"That still happens huh?"

Killian turned around.

"Yeah."

Emma locked the cell with her key, as Killian turned around again to face Henry.

"But It's only once a month, so it's nothing serious."

Henry laughed. Some things would never change apparently.

"So what brings you back to Storybrooke mate?"

"Long story short. I'm trying to find someone I really care about."

"Do you love them?"

Henry hesitated before answering. The truth was he didn't even know how he felt about Drizella. But he would have to see for himself.

"I'm not sure. But I'm hoping I'll know for sure once I see her."

"Killian, it's Ivy," Emma called out from her desk area.

Killian whipped his head around.

"Oh, you mean Archie's assistant?"

"Yeah."

Killian turned around and grabbed Henry's shoulder.

The sudden serious look in his eyes was startling.

"There's only one question you have to ask yourself now lad...What are you still doing here?"

 **~*TEN MINUTES LATER, ARCHIE'S OFFICE*~**

Not much had changed in Archie's office since Henry had been there as a troubled kid. There was one thing, however, that was different. And it wasn't Drizella.

Henry felt a lump in his throat when he found the picture of Pongo and Archie on a trip in some forest-y area.

The words engraved on the picture frame were: "Pongo, Beloved dog and companion. He will always be missed."

"The day he died was a sad day for me. I cried for days after that."

" _Why is everyone sneaking up on me lately?_ " Henry thought to himself.

Henry turned around and found a slightly older Archie standing before him. He could tell he was older because there were a few strands of grey hair mixed in with the red.

"Archie? Hey!"

Henry walked up to him and gave him a hug. When he let go he could see that Pongo was still somewhat of a sore subject for Archie.

"What happened?"

Archie sighed.

"A few years ago I decided to leave Storybrooke to help people along the east coast. And then one day Pongo was gone. I had gotten so used to time staying still for most of the people here that I completely forgot that it would start up again as soon as we left."

"I'm sorry, Archie. I don't know what else to say."

"It's fine. Anyway, something tells me you didn't drop by just to ask me about Pongo. Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"Actually, yes. I'm looking for someone, her name is-"

"Archie, where are those files-"

Henry turned around just in time to find Drizella in the doorway with a pack of folders in her hand.

Which she then proceeded to drop on the floor.

* * *

 **A/N: *dramatic gasp***


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: *cries in fangirl***

* * *

Henry immediately made his way over to Drizella and gave her a hug.

Drizella let herself sink into his arms.

" _Is this really happening right now?"_ She thought to herself, refusing to believe it.

She didn't want to let go in case she would never see him again, but she knew she would have to do it eventually.

So she let go first.

"Henry...What are you doing here? Do you remember...everything?"

"Yes, Drizella. I remember it all."

Drizella looked at him nervously.

"I'm gonna leave. Give you guys some privacy." Archie said closing the door behind him.

"Thanks, Archie." Henry called out as he left.

Now it was just the two of them.

Alone.

In an empty room.

Where anything could happen.

Drizella picked up the folder she had dropped and placed it on a nearby desk.

"Henry, I'm so sorry for everything. If I could take it all back, I would. I was just so stupid and I wasn't thinking straight."

"It's okay. I forgive you."

"And I let myself get too wrapped in my mother-wait. What did you say?"

"I forgive you. Everything you did, I forgive you."

Now Drizella was confused. Where was Ella? Where was Lucy?

"I don't understand. Why?"

"Because, I...Uh..."

Henry didn't know how to put it into words at the moment. So he did the only thing he could think of in that moment.

He placed his right hand on her left cheek, allowing himself to slowly stroke her face gently.

He could feel his heart beating faster and faster.

Now he finally knew what he wanted.

He wanted _her_.

He leaned over and gently kissed her on the lips.

Drizella immediately figured out what was going on, and bravely deepened the kiss, which Henry happily responded to by wrapping his arms around her waist.

After what felt like a lifetime, they let go of each other and stared at each other; slightly exhausted, but elated.

"Well...that explains a lot," Drizella replied breathlessly with a small laugh.

"Yeah, it does," Henry replied blushing. He cleared his throat so he could be more serious.

"Drizella..."

"Yeah?"

"I forgive you...because I love you."

Drizella's eyes lit up.

"What did you say?"

"I love you. And I came all this way to see if you loved me back. I know it sounds crazy, and maybe you don't even feel the same way-"

Drizella didn't even give him a chance to finish because she wrapped her arms around him and gave him another kiss.

Henry finally had his answer.

 **~*FIVE YEARS LATER, HENRY'S STORYBROOKE APARTMENT*~**

After Henry arrived in Storybrooke, Drizella's sister Anastasia helped him to get in contact with Ella and Lucy. He was relieved to find out that they were okay, and that everything had worked out for them.

He even got a laugh out of the fact that Lucy now had two dads, himself, and the wish version of himself in the other realm.

" _Kind of like me, except with two dads instead of two moms_ ," Henry thought with a chuckle to himself.

He managed to find a spell (thanks to Ana) that allowed him to check up on Lucy and Ella every week so he could still be a part of their lives.

It was basically a magic version of Skype via bathroom mirror.

He didn't go to Ella and Wish!Henry's wedding, but he did manage to send Ella a Hyacinth in a box, with a special message inside.

 _Dear Ella and Lucy,_

 _I hope you are doing well. I wish you both all the happiness in the world._

 _To Ella: I'm so sorry things didn't work out between us, but I am very glad you were able to find happiness again. That's all I ever wanted for you, and I hope you feel the same way about me._

 _To Lucy: Hey! Now you have two dads! Just like me huh? I hope you're ready for next week, because I am going to give you the time of your life in Storybrooke when your mom and stepdad go on their honeymoon._

 _Love you both and wish you the best,_

 _Henry._

He and Lucy spent the next two weeks getting ice cream and playing board games with her grandparents.

It was a fun time.

But that was two years ago.

So much had changed since then. Ana had left for college a few months ago. Lucy was so close to becoming an adult.

Everything was changing so quickly.

And now Henry was considering leaving Storybrooke again to go live in New York City.

He had told Drizella about his plans to move again a few day ago. They were lying in bed together after a long day of playing with Neal and Leia.

"What's it like there?" Drizella had asked him.

"Kind of like Seattle, only different. I think you'd like it."

Drizella didn't say anything more and snuggled herself against him.

Henry brought himself back to the present, and looked at the clock on his desk.

It was 8:12 pm.

She knew she would be back any moment.

He never thought he would ask this question again, but here he was.

Just a man about to ask the woman he loved if she would marry him.

No big deal.

Just then, the door opened, and a tired looking Drizella greeted him with a smile.

"Hey!"

"Hey."

She took off her coat and tossed it on the couch.

"Drizella?"

"Yeah?"

"There's something I need to ask you."

Drizella froze.

"What is it?"

Henry sighed nervously and slowly got down on one knee.

He heard her gasp.

When he looked up, he could see that her eyes were beginning to turn red.

"Drizella...When we met all those years ago. I sensed that you were a good person, even if you didn't believe in it yourself. But we met under bad timing. You had revenge in your heart, and I was struggling to find myself in another realm. Falling for you was the last thing I ever could've have expected, but it happened, and I am so glad it did. Because I love you, and..."

Henry took the ring out of his pocket and showed it to her.

"I want to marry you. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," Drizella managed to get out among her tears.

Henry put the ring on her finger and smiled. When he got up, her tears were streaming down her face now.

"Yes! I will marry you. Yes."

She kissed him gently and then hugged him.

Henry glanced over at the clock.

It was now 8:15 pm.

Henry grinned happily.

His story didn't turn out the way he imagined it would.

But that was okay.

Because his story was his own, and he didn't need to copy his grandparents story, or even his mother's.

All he needed was his own story.

And at the end of the day, that was the only thing that mattered.

THE END

* * *

 **A/N: *sighs heavily in fangirl* And that's it. Hope you guys enjoyed that.**


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